Darker than BLACK / First Impressions

Summary:

Five years ago in South America, Hei battled a Contractor who had an energy wave ability, and Hei managed to kill him by tying a cable around the guy’s neck and hanging him from a tree branch. Hei had then found his sister Bai standing in a pool of water surrounded by dead people. Back in present times, Kurosawa Gai is visited by a woman who wants his help with her son’s homework which involves asking people if they remember the starry sky from a long time ago. It reminds Kiko that tonight – from midnight until morning – will be when a rumored star from the past is to be seen. In any case, the woman wants Gai to get 100 people to answer the question and offers 100,000 yen for his services. Gai starts to say that it would be better for her son to do his homework on his own, but, having heard the sum of money, Kiko spills tea on him and accepts the job. Over at police headquarters, Hourai is telling Misaki about how Decade had feared that November 11 was a member of EPR. This causes Misaki to question if EPR had a reason to kill Decade, but Hourai says that they got jurisdiction of the investigation taken away from them, and he tells her not to poke her nose into this any more.

When Misaki then starts talking about how forceful Pandora’s way of doing things was the other day and about how she doesn’t think they are a simple research institute, Hourai cuts her off and reiterates that this is not something that they’re pursing – they are only talking about the death of one contractor. In response to this, Misaki says that November 11 was a man who lived with pride, regardless of whether he was a Contractor or not, and his final words to her were for her to do what she believed in. Hourai realizes that this means Misaki had heard from him, but she claims that it’s a joke and walks out. Meanwhile, Huang tells Mao and Ying about how no one could enter the South American region after the disappearance of Heaven’s Gate. What he knows is that there was a dispute over it at where a lot of Contractors were sent as weapons, including Hei and Amber who were in the same organization. Hei was feared as the black Shinigami even though he wasn’t a Contractor yet or anything, but there was another who was truly feared as a Contractor: Hei’s little sister Bai.

Around this time, Hei is walking through the streets remembering what happened five years ago. Back then, he had been lying against a tree stump with a sleeping Bai in his arms when Amber had come by and commented on how Bai was still paying her price. Amber had also noted that Hei and his sister spent a lot of time together, to the point where they were like lovers. Since Hei was watching at the stars again, Amber had said that no matter how long he looked, he wouldn’t be able to see the stars from the past. Back in the present, Eric Nishijima is on the phone talking with someone about how Schroeder had said that the light from the masked Contractor appeared identical to the light that was observed when the South American Gate disappeared. At that very moment, Mao is telling Huang and Yin about the same light and how he thinks she needs Hei’s power to do the same thing here as she did in South America. This connection between Hei and the disappearance of the South American Gate causes Huang to suddenly realize something. Eric Nishijima meanwhile finishes his phone conversation by confirming that the Contractor is BK-201 and that they are already on the job of eliminating Hei and his unit.

Over at Hei’s apartment building, Gai and Kiko have come by to ask the landlady about the stars of the past. She doesn’t seem to know the difference between those of the past and those of the present, so Gai turns to her husband. To the landlady’s surprise, her usually silent husband says that he has fond memories of the night he saw the Giacobinids meteor shower. This was over 30 years ago, and the old man remembers how they had taken their son to see it. Gai and Kiko’s next stop is the ramen shop where Hei likes to eat, but the shop owner doesn’t initially remember anything. It’s not until his daughter and Kiko start talking about how the weather forecast of rain tonight might prevent them from seeing the rumored stars of the past that the owner remembers how his daughter had gotten lost at the amusement park once, and they had found her later that night looking at the stars. Elsewhere in the city, Misaki catches Saitou and Kouno tailing her, but when she confronts them, they don’t tell her who gave them the order. Misaki then pays a visit to the site where November 11 died, and as she’s walking down some nearby stairs, she catches sight of Hei (who she still recognizes as Li). To his surprise, she stops him and asks him if he’s hungry.

The two then go out to a yakiniku restaurant, and Hei wonders if he had really looked that hungry. Misaki replies that he had reminded her of someone she knows, and she nearly chokes when Hei asks if that person was a criminal she was chasing. Hei suddenly gets serious and tells her not to move from where she, but Misaki starts laughing because, despite his serious attitude, he has a grain of rice on his mouth. Later during the meal, Misaki comments on how it’s strange that you develop a little attachment when you chase a star for a long time. Hei recognizes that she’s talking about being dedicated to work, but Misaki then notes that, before you know it, you can lose sight of yourself if you get too busy with the organization. This prompts Hei to say that organizations are the same everywhere since they use people as convenient chess pieces under their control. By chance, the two run into Gai and Kiko on their way out of the restaurant, and Gai tells them about his job of finding out memories that people might have related to stars of the past. Gai personally feels that the memories are glorified and that after the Gate appeared, everyone became uneasy somehow. Citing how everyone seemed calm during the previous bombing incident, he thinks that they are uneasy now, so they want to immerse themselves in memories.

After parting ways with Gai and Kiko, Hei and Misaki go to a batting cage, and, much to Misaki’s amusement, Hei ends up falling down while trying to hit a ball. The two then admire the view, and Misaki asks Hei if he likes this city. Since he doesn’t hate it, Hei talks about the moderate temperatures and how he feels that he belongs here right now even though this is just a point he’s passing through in his life. When Misaki points out that the city is becoming more dangerous, Hei claims that it’s still peaceful compared to the place he was with his sister. This causes her to wonder if he had been in a conflict-torn region, and he quietly nods yes. Upon learning that Hei lost his sister, Misaki thinks that it’s sad, but Hei isn’t sure and suggests that he might have felt relieved instead. After a moment of silence, Misaki changes the subject to the rumored stars tonight, but Hei thinks that it’s impossible and Misaki feels that no one really believes in the rumor. Nevertheless, everywhere across the city, everyone looks up at the sky as the clock approaches midnight. As they do so too, Hei asks Misaki if she wants to see the stars, she admits that she wants to show them. Still, she thinks that if the current stars don’t disappear, then they won’t be able to see the ones from the past. When Hei notes that these current stars are fake, Misaki points out that if all these currently shining false stars disappear, it would still be sad in its own way.

Misaki then gets an alert on her cell phone and realizes that she has to leave. Before she goes though, she admits that she’s glad to have been able to talk with him since she had been feeling doubtful. Hei catches her off guard by telling her that she should believe in and act through her instinct when she’s in doubt. Recovering from the surprise, Misaki shakes Hei’s hand and thanks him for the fun time they had together. Once Hei is by himself again, he remembers how he had caught Bai after she collapsed in the pool filled with dead bodies and how she had seen all the shooting stars. After Bai had closed her eyes, Hei had put his hand around her neck, but before he could do anything, Amber came over to tell him that it was over. She had suggested that they go home and was a bit startled to see Hei cry a single tear. Back in the present, the clock strikes midnight, and it starts to rain. Kiko and Gai have returned to their office by now, and Kiko isn’t happy with the rain preventing her from seeing the sky. Gai, however, feels that detectives have to be realists. No matter how their surrounding situation changes, whether it is with the stars or the Gate, peoples’ lives remain unchanged.

Hei meanwhile returns to his neighborhood, but he gets warned by Mao not to go home. Huang then comes racing around the corner in the van – which has suffered some bullet damage to the windshield – and tells Hei to get on. Apparently the Organization has discarded them, and Mao suspects that it has to do with something Hei might be hiding about what happened with the South American Gate’s disappearance. Before they can escape though, all of them are suddenly pinned to the ground by a force resulting from a Contractor power. Soon after this Contractor shows his face though, the constant pressure ends, and Hei finds the Contractor in two pieces on the ground. Their savior is Wei who notes that this Contractor used the power of gravity but was too overconfident. Wei is here not only to pass along a message about Amber waiting for Hei at the Gate, but also to guide them there. Hei agrees to go and reveals to the others that he really doesn’t know what happened at the Heaven’s Gate, including why his sister disappeared there. The only person who knows is Amber, and Yin notes that Hei wants to see and talk with her. Mao is opposed to the idea, but Huang decides to take Hei as far as he can.

Over at police headquarters, Misaki learns from Matsumoto that things are happening above them and that there might have been some interventions in the top level of management. She then gets a phone call from her father who frantically tells her to evacuate and leave Tokyo immediately, and this leads to Misaki realizing that what happened in South America might happen here. The person behind these movements is Eric Nishijima, and opposing them is EPR. In a warehouse somewhere, Amber gives her Contractors two goals for their mission: lead the Dolls into the Gate and destroy the particle accelerator. Each of them is given a piece of the now-shattered meteor fragment, and Amber then starts the operation.

Preview

As expected, a lot of big things are revealed now that we’re in the final stretch. The biggest one was that Hei didn’t have Contractor powers going into South America, but Bai did. Since Hei doesn’t know what happened back then, we can probably conclude that Amber’s plan involved using Bai’s power, and that Hei inherited that power somehow. That would be why Amber needs him now. Incidentally, Bai’s price appears to have been sleeping, but we know that Hei didn’t inherit that too. Perhaps the loss of his sister was the price he paid for it.

Hei’s other interaction with Bai this episode were a bit more confusing for me. When he put his hand around her neck, I thought he was going to strangle her or something, but it wasn’t clear what his motivation was. It could be connected with how he told Misaki that he might have been relieved about Bai being gone. Maybe it’s because he didn’t like or want his sister being a weapon to kill people. I could see a possible scenario where Hei wanted to protect his sister by ridding her of her power, and somehow in the process getting that power himself. That might explain why he was crying after Bai had pointed out all the falling stars (signaling all the dying Contractors).

Overall though, this episode progressed a little slower than I would have liked it to (too much talking and not enough doing), though I did rather enjoy the entire Misaki and Hei scene. Those two would make a great couple, but I don’t think it’s likely to happen since I suspect Hei will die at the end. The Kurosawa Gai and Kiko stuff was probably the part that was needed the least, but you could argue that it gave a look into how peoples’ lives were affected by the stars, which I guess is one of the themes of this series. I just hope that the final two episodes don’t have too many huge stretches of dialogue that could kill any momentum they’re building. Anyway, it looks like we’ll find out next week what Eric’s plan and Amber’s plan really involve, and the old Stargazer lady is already saying in the preview that this is the beginning of the end.

41 Comments

  2. Anybody else think that that dark-haired girl at the beginning of the episode looks like Yin with dark hair?

    And no, I’m not trying to say they’re the same person. But /dang/, there’s a resemblance. Probably because of the way she keeps her hair up.

    Shinji103
    Reply

  7. Well MaimeDaifuku if you are watching this anime for so long you would also notice the Pizza Hut ads around would you. Make Amber like a C.C. clone along with the Pizza Hut ads.

    So it seems there’s a little flashback finally seeing Bai for the firt time. Wow she’s ….
    No wonder Hei do everything to find her younger sister.

    arigatou
    Reply

  11. Being Hot is a family thing i think
    In the first scene we see that Hei didnt use his power…or… he didnt had it?. And in another flashback we watch that Hei was about to kill Bai..my… i cant wait to the subs…

    Vanessa
    Reply

  28. YES!! I agreed with Hey!

    *Be looking forward to Hei’s ending with amber

    *I noticed just then, amber is getting ‘younger’ compare to her past, guess that is her price to pay for her ability?

    Joybot
    Reply

  29. Hei’s other interaction with Bai this episode were a bit more confusing for me. When he put his hand around her neck, I thought he was going to strangle her or something, but it wasn’t clear what his motivation was. It could be connected with how he told Misaki that he might have been relieved about Bai being gone. Maybe it’s because he didn’t like or want his sister being a weapon to kill people. I could see a possible scenario where Hei wanted to protect his sister by ridding her of her power, and somehow in the process getting that power himself. That might explain why he was crying after Bai had pointed out all the falling stars (signaling all the dying Contractors).

    https://randomc.net/image/Darker%20than%20BLACK/Darker%20than%20BLACK%20-%2023%20-%20Large%2026.jpg

    Looks to me in that picture like he’s just checking her pulse, but I haven’t seen the ep yet. Could still explain why he possibly got her powers. We still haven’t been told how contractors gain their contracts yet…

    quigonkenny
    Reply

  32. Good episode. Certainly felt like the calm before the storm, and some atmosphere that Hei might not make it alive at the end of the series. The next episode is called “Meteor Shower”, meaning many Contractors will die. :O

    Damian
    Reply

  34. I think that Hei was trying to strangle his sister because he could not stand his sister being a killing machine without any guilt of what she was doing. He probably thought that killing her would actually save her from her miseries but he could not force himself to do such a thing to his sister. Hence explains why he was crying when AMber saw him.

    Boys
    Reply

  37. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! BAI IS DEAD?! But she looks so cuteeee…too bad

    UGH NOOOO NO TO AMBER. I’d rather have Misaki and Hei together than Amber and Hei. No, I should be with Hei. Joke. Don’t set the fangirls on me hhaahahaha

    I have a feeling Amber will die, and not Hei. Or maybe that’s just me talking.

    Yuiren
    Reply

  39. After seeing Bai in this episode, I thought she looked a lot like Yin.

    Which leaves me to believe there’s more to Yin than meets the eye. They look alike. Amber went after her back in one of the earlier episodes. It wasnt cause she needed a Doll, but more like to spend time with her, as if Yin was Bai and Amber wanted to spend time with her after all this time they’ve been apart. Yin was also sleeping when she was with Amber, kinda like how Bai would sleep too. On this last episode, when Huang brings up Bai during the conversation with Mao, the camera shifts to Yin staying quiet, as if she knew something about the subject, but not saying anything about it.

    It’s quite obvious Bai isnt dead ’cause Hei heard her voice in the last episode. SOmething tells me she resides inside Yin, or something like that.
    Also, Yin saved Hei from the meteor incident episode. And in another episode, she tried to grab his hand. Both signs of affection. Dolls arent suppose to have feelings or act on their own. So why did she do it? Maybe it was Bai the one who is responsible for Yin’s actions towards Hei.

    Damian
    Reply

  41. Does anyone else think Bai disappeared the same way that Nick disappeared? It seems like both of them vanished when the meteor fragment came in contact with Hei. Maybe Hei wished for Nick to find his sister in the present, and wished for his sister to disappear in the past.

    Roxanne1988
    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *